How to Be a Prolific Writer: 6 Stubborn Myths Quashed by Facts

She’d dedicate that extra hour to writing. And then she could publish a blog post every week, and perhaps finally start writing her book.

Hayley has always wanted to write a book, but she has too many other things to do. Keep her coaching clients happy. Take care of her elderly mother. Clean the house, get groceries, and cook. Answer countless emails. Keep up with Facebook.

At the end of a busy day, she sits down at her desk, with a cup of her favorite nighttime tea.

But she lacks the energy to write.

Hayley published her last blog post 7 weeks ago. And that book? She never got further than a rough outline. She thinks she lacks the willpower to write. She doubts she’ll ever be good enough to publish a book.

Should she give up?

In the last few years, I’ve read a lot about productivity, and tested different tactics. I’ve found a lot of productivity advice doesn’t work for me, and might even be counterproductive.

Want to know which productivity myths might be sabotaging you? And how you could become a prolific writer even if you got a ton of other stuff to do?

Myth 1. You must have oodles of willpower

For years, researchers have argued we have a limited amount of willpower, so we have to apply our willpower carefully to our most important tasks.

But recent research has suggested telling ourselves we lack willpower is enough to prevent us implementing our plans.

Consider that … just thinking we lack willpower can stop us from writing more. It’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

So, instead of worrying about willpower and trying to cram more tasks into your day, look at your schedule and ask yourself:

What could you do less?

Which activity can you drop, so you can make time for writing?

Further reading: In his book “Deep Work,” Cal Newport explains how to block time to get demanding work, like writing, done.

Myth 2. You must set big writing goals

Setting big targets works for some, but for most of us it works counterproductive.

Big targets make many of us feel anxious, and anxiety guzzles up energy and obstructs our ability to focus. Anxiety is a productivity killer.

If you’re one of the lucky ones who thrives on big targets, go ahead, challenge yourself to write that book in half the time you think is possible, or double your guest posting commitments.

But if big targets don’t work for you, set a doable target instead, and nurture a regular writing habit.

When you make a little space for writing every day, you’ll get a surprising amount of work done. For instance, Gustave Flaubert wrote “Madame Bovary” by writing only two pages a week, and Stephen Guise wrote his bestseller on mini-habits by aiming to write at least 50 words a day.

When you nurture a tiny habit, writing becomes almost as automatic as brushing your teeth daily.

And that’s how you can write that book that’s hiding in you. Sentence by sentence. Page by page.

Myth 3. You must dedicate more hours to writing

If you want to be more prolific as a writer, it’s a good idea to block time in your calendar for writing.

But dedicating more hours to writing doesn’t necessarily make you more productive.

This is what happened when Mark Manson tried to write as much as possible in a day:

I was hanging out with a few other writers and we’d get together for “write-a-thons” and bang out as many words as humanly possible in an afternoon. It was basically one big pissing contest where we’d gloat about our word counts over drinks later that evening.

My best day was 8,000 words, all in about 6 hours of total work.

“Holy shit!” I thought, “I just produced 32 pages in a single day!” All you would need is 10 days of that kind of productivity to write an entire book.

There was just one problem.

It all sucked.

I mean all of it. When I eventually went back to revise the chapter a few weeks later, out of those 8,000 words, there were maybe 500 that were usable.

The problem is that it took me four days to sort through all the garbage, re-write the few parts that were salvageable, and make the decision to delete the parts that just sucked.

After a year full of frustrations, Manson finally decides to limit his writing to two hours a day:

And my god, did the book just shoot out of my fingers like my undiscovered Jedi powers. I banged out a new draft of the book in two months flat.

My experience is similar. When I write a little every day, I make progress faster.

So, if you’re finding yourself revising a lot, try writing less, and go out for a walk instead. Research has shown a walk can boost your creativity.

Myth 4. You must get up at 5am

This seems to be one of the most pervasive myths on the web. Every successful person seems to get up early to get more done.

But, in the book “Daily Rituals” by Mason Currey, you’ll find plenty of examples of writers who didn’t work early:

American novelist Thomas Wolfe typically started writing around midnight, fueled by large quantities of tea and coffee

Short story writer Ann Beattie’s favorite hours for writing are between 12.00 and 3.00am

Franz Kafka only started writing at 10.30pm or later, after his day job at an insurance company was finished

As Currey shows, everyone’s daily routines are different, and some writers are productive without a fixed schedule. Novelist Nicholson Baker, for instance, likes changing his routine each time he starts writing a new book.

We all have different biorhythms and commitments to work around. So, stop feeling guilty if you like a late start. Learn to listen to your body and find out what writing rhythm works for you.

Further reading: Mason Currey’s book “Daily Rituals” provides a fascinating look into the different routines of writers and other creatives

Myth 5. You must outline

I’m a fan of outlining.

Especially for beginning writers, outlining helps to get content organized and it can seriously reduce the revision time, so you can produce well-structured content faster.

Lee Child, for instance, writes his crime novels without planning the plot. The story writes itself.

No one writing process is suitable for all. Some people outline, others just start writing. Some people write short outlines, others write such detailed outlines they’ve almost written a rough draft already. Some people like editing while writing, and others edit only after they’ve finished a first draft.

In most cases, I write faster when I outline. But sometimes, I freewrite and see where I end up. Sometimes I edit while writing, but mostly I edit after I’ve written a first draft.

Everyone is different, so find the creative process that works for you.

He created batches of raw material in advance—phrases, sentences, descriptions, and entire scenes on hundreds of pages organized in three-ring binders. Tabbed index dividers separated the sections into topics.

Dad was like Henry Ford applying principles of assembly-line production with premade parts. The methodical technique proved highly efficient. Surrounded by tabulated notebooks, he could quickly find the appropriate section and transcribe lines directly into his manuscript. Afterward, he blacked them out to prevent plagiarizing himself.

And this is what Chris’ mother tells him about selling the books at conventions:

They bought everything. I don’t know why. The books were pretty much all the same. Different settings and people’s names, but the same.

Writing according to a template allows you to write on auto-pilot, super-fast. It’s a streamlined production process.

But this type of writing doesn’t work for everyone. For instance, if you write to formulate your thoughts, to master a topic, or to explore new writing techniques, you’re bound to be slower because you need more time for thinking and percolation.

Reader Interactions

Comments

Henneke I could so relate to this post! I started at 3:30 today but doing email, fixing a WordPress error that took 40 minutes. (Darn plugins!) Then on to social media, reading and commenting on posts and thinking about my own next epic one to write. I try to get a walk in too before heading to the day job. I love your idea of an outline though. I need to work more on that. Sometimes it helps me to at least get started. It happened the other day and I then wrote over 1200 words in 2 hours. I was amazed at myself. Other times I can skip a day of writing. (not good!) I think my issue is multi-tasking 🙁 Thanks for the inspiration today! Enjoy your time in France.

Hi Lisa I used to multitask a lot, too, and it was hard to stop, but when I am focused on one task at a time, I can get a lot more done. I’ve found that for me it works really well to pick an idea and do a quick outline on one day and then write the next. But we’re all different, so it’s good to try different methods of writing to see what works. Your schedule sounds very tough to me – starting at 3.30! France is beautiful and the sun is shining on us (so far). Thank you for stopping by 🙂

Brilliant article as always. I prefer to do research and outline at the same time before I invest time into writing. And one of the tools that have come to my rescue is Airstory.co by Joanna. That tool is brilliant!

When it comes to focusing, I like to trick my mind by listening to music or create an ambience using: – Coffitivity – Brain.FM – Hisptersound.

These sites are fantastic, and they have helped me to focus more. Anyway, thank you for this inspirational article. Looking forward to more

Thank you for adding those sites. Another one many people use to stay focused is [email protected] Music is so interesting as we all seem to have different preferences in terms of music while writing. I prefer silence.

This post kept me nodding all the way through. It was great to see a fresh approach against many myths such as waking up at 5am, writing fast and invest all your day in a task. For me each of these points work in the way you describe and I get to do more when I aim for less. Slower means faster. Also, in order to be creative /productive I need 8h of sleep minimum. After I quit my job, I realized how awake and present I felt every day and on every task as I slept enough every day. I don’t know if it happened the same to you?

Thanks for reminding us that all the web formulas are for everyone and therefore to none.

Yes, yes, yes! Sleep is so important. My working day is so much more productive when I have had a good night’s sleep. I can focus so much better. When I am tired, I get much more easily distracted. I think we often underestimate the importance of sleep. Thank you for adding that!

LOL! Well, THAT was a range of examples! 😉 Fascinating how myth becomes “true” simply through the repetition of some ‘expert’ saying it and others accepting it as ‘the only way’ without critically considering their own needs and what works for them. It’s such a balance to be open-minded to new ideas, yet still stand on your own two feet.

I used to work late, too, but I found I could only be productive for a few days because I didn’t get enough sleep. When I changed to starting a little earlier and stopping earlier, I became more productive. But as I said, we’re all different, so it might work well for you.

Haha! Thanks so much for answering and mentioning me, Henneke! As I read the intro, I perked up and thought, “Wow, this sorta fits me exactly!” I certainly was paying attention. What a fun surprise! I think the inspiration part is where I’m most stuck. When the source is blocked, all the rest reduces to nice rule that may or may not be needed someday. But for me, perhaps it is not a lack of inspiration, but more likely just too much of it. As we are seeing in Houston these days, lovely things like a breeze or a gentle autumn rain can morph into panic-inducing monsters, simply by being far too much. What happens when ideas pour in at an unstopable pace? We lose them. They are wasted, cannot be managed or channeled to those who need them, cannot be saved for the future, cannot even be captured at all or tamed in the least. I will say, though, that walking probably is my downfall. I walk once or twice a week. Surely not enough. I loved the extra reading from Stanford. I think comparing the more straightforward and seemingly purposeless walking with goal-oriented (even chore-oriented) aim should be their next topic of research. Or maybe mine? Perhaps a pocket voice recorder will be my next experiment. This post has been so helpful to me and I hope it will help others, too. Thank you, again, for “getting” me and taking the time to dispense so generously from your wealth of research! <3 K

To me, it feels that I am benefiting from walking in different ways. It’s a great way to break up a working day and get some moderate exercise. But it also feels it helps me slow down and live more in the moment. When I live at a calmer pace, I actually get more done as my brain can focus more. But it might very well be that this is different for different people. I don’t know.

There’s something fascinating about the pace of walking, too. Cycling, for instance, feels different to me.

I love all of your posts but this one is a bulls eye. I’m designing a new coaching program and writing copy for our company website and it’s taking way too long, at for the folks who are waiting on the material.

I’m going to take a deep breath, stop feeling guilty and just get back to work. As always, thanks for sharing your brilliant thoughts and tips with us.

I used to feel guilty about being too slow, too. But writing good content can take time. The weird thing is, once I stopped feeling guilty and let the process take its course, I actually became faster. When I tried to speed up, it cramped my writing. When I accepted my speed, my focus improved and I went faster. Weird, eh?

Alleluia! Your words were a sweet comfort as I’ve never quite fit the myth mold. I tried outlining a few times, it threw me off my game. I write best in the middle of the afternoon (plus it keeps me from snacking on junk food), I’m happy if I write a solid hour per day, and I edit while writing (and edit again upon completion). Thank you for confirming that one-size does NOT fit all.

I love doing less and focus on just a few things. I think it might have been Mark Schaefer who said to focus on only three things to build your business, and it’s surprising how much easier life gets when you remove all mental clutter. I have to stay vigilant as it’s so easy to add more to do’s to my list.

Henneke, this is why I <3 your posts. You embrace uniqueness. I have a serious case of middle child of seven syndrome. I hate being told you MUST do it this way. Even if it's the best idea ever, I'll probably do the opposite just because EVERYONE is doing it.

Share what works for you but don't assume your way is the only way. Well, not you, Henneke. That other you. 😉

I am the middle one of only three children but I am exactly like you. My ex-boss used to complain a lot about my insubordination. I especially hated it when he told me I had to listen to him because he was my boss. It’s much better to work for myself!

Loved this Henneke – this is especially timely for me as I’ve just increased my writing commitment yet again. My goal is to be prolific, and I’ve found that the more consistently I write, the easier it becomes to write more.

That self-awareness is key, and I’m getting better st paying attention to what works best for me. 🙂

As always super content, I just learned all that with writing my children’s books, which happened within 10 days for nine books. I did not call it anything but realised it as outlining once i was ready for the illustration, having no boundaries or pressure at all that happened easily. The most important feeling was that I enjoyed, actually loved every minute of it. I find it amazing we still synchronise after all those years Henneke. Love and Blessings 🙂 <3 🙂 A.

Hi Henneke This post addressed all my issues in one fell swoop. I’m guilty of multitasking too. Your point about self knowledge made real sense. I’m battling to complete as many posts as possible before the launch of my blog on 01/10/2017. I realise after reading this that I am exhausted and need some time away from the writing. By the way, I love your pertinent points about the writing habits of famous writers. Would you care to reveal your research source please ? Thanks again for a very inspirational piece.

Thoroughly enjoyed this one. I wish that it was possible to read more of your work and your collections, they are so true and precise. Bang on, I believe is the term. Just waiting to be through with the cataracts in both my eyes an start joining you by putting your tips to work.

I’ve written fast, I’ve written slow, I’ve written in the morning, I’ve written in the afternoon, I’ve written after midnight, I’ve outlined, I’ve gone without an outline, I’ve used pen and paper, I’ve typed, I’ve written in short bursts and in multi-hour marathons. Nothing works and everything works.

The reason for all this variety is because you never learn how to write books, you only learn how to write the book you’re writing.

I think that’s one of the reasons writing is fascinating – each piece of content has its own challenges. The writing process is never exactly the same, and both new insights and stumbling blocks can arrive unexpectedly.

It’s funny. There are a lot of “groups” out there that advocate binge writing and then reporting to each other their word counts. I feel kind of strange being in those groups because I just don’t function that way. I need time to think, time to read, time to write a little and read it over and change some words…. Thank you for this comprehensive list of myths and the message to find one’s own way.

On a serious note, myth 3 is a complete hoax. It’s like saying, “If I could have more hours in a day, then I’ll get a lot more done!” Of course, if you are not already getting a lot done in 24 hours, then you won’t get more done given more hours.

Yes, that’s so true. If you’re stressed and unproductive in 24 hours, then the same pattern will repeat itself if you’d have 26 or 28 hours, so we have to make the most of the 24 hours we get each day (and get our sleep, too!).

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I never saw myself as a writer, but in my early forties, I learned how to write and discovered the joy of writing. Now, I’d like to empower you to find your voice, share your ideas and inspire your audience.Learn how I can help you